# Pipes that smoke cool vs. hot



## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

I have heard people refer to pipes as “cool smoking” but this goes against what I have always thought. Let me explain my thinking… One of the reasons that briar is used for pipes is because of its ability to dissipate heat, it does this because it is “breathable”. As the briar dissipates the heat it will warm up, because the heat is moving from the inside to the outside of the pipe. This is why it is not a good idea to put a varnish or lacquer on a pipe because it will seal the briar and prevent it from breathing. So to me it is a good thing that a pipe gets hot when smoking, because that means the briar is doing its job and dissipating the heat. I would think that a pipe that doesn’t smoke hot would be a bad thing because that would mean that the briar is not removing the heat… To me it is not if the pipe smokes hot or cool, but how quickly the pipe cools off after the heat source is removed. This is what I have always thought but recently I have heard people stressing the importance of a pipe that doesn’t smoke hot… am I wrong on this?


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## quo155 (Aug 10, 2010)

I know that many EPS will chime in on this, but I have always thought that the reference was that the "ingested" smoke is cool as the pipe itself has taken on the heat...but I could be wrong.

Great question!


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

quo155 said:


> I know that many EPS will chime in on this, but I have always thought that the reference was that the "ingested" smoke is cool as the pipe itself has taken on the heat...but I could be wrong.
> 
> Great question!


I get that, but people usually say that that when talking about a tobacco, they say that a tobacco has a "cool smoke" or "burns cool". But when they are talking about a pipe, I figured it was about the tempature of the briar and not the smoke...


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## Zogg (Aug 31, 2010)

yes ive always had it as the smoke is cool (like how a cigar gets hot near the nub vs when you first start its more cool) not so much the actual pipe being hot or cold.

actually unless you're smoking a SUPER thick pipe - you still have burning tobacco sitting in that bowl which means it will be relatively warm to hold! the better at "absorbing" the heat so to speak would probably feel warmer because the heat is in the pipe instead of the smoke itself.

This is just from my limited experience and working out my experiences, and i could be wrong!


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## User Name (Feb 11, 2011)

My worthless statement- 

I generally refer to the smoke itself as being cool, a pipe will get warm not matter what and I really enjoy that aspect of it (especially in the winter). 

As far as pipes getting too hot to hold, that usually has to do with smoking technique combined with tobacco selection.


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## InsidiousTact (Dec 3, 2010)

I'm going to have to disagree with the majority here, I've always thought of a pipe smoking hot referring to the bowl of the pipe itself. A churchwarden can cool the smoke down, but you can still smoke the pipe hot. Also, some pipes get hotter than others for no apparent reason.

For example, I have a grabow that smokes inordinately hot compared to my other pipes of similar thickness and with the same technique. The smoke is fine, it's just that the walls of the pipe get super hot while smoking! From what I hear, this can have either negative effects on the smoke or the pipe itself, or have no effect at all. In my case, it does nothing, really, so no complaints (other than it being uncomfortable to hold)!


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

InsidiousTact said:


> I'm going to have to disagree with the majority here, I've always thought of a pipe smoking hot referring to the bowl of the pipe itself. A churchwarden can cool the smoke down, but you can still smoke the pipe hot. Also, some pipes get hotter than others for no apparent reason.


Yes, this is what I am talking about, the bowl of the pipe not the smoke. I have always figured that it should heat up if it is doing its job...



User Name said:


> a pipe will get warm not matter what and I really enjoy that aspect of it (especially in the winter).


Yes, a built in hand warmer in the winter :smile:



Zogg said:


> you still have burning tobacco sitting in that bowl which means it will be relatively warm to hold! the better at "absorbing" the heat so to speak would probably feel warmer because the heat is in the pipe instead of the smoke itself.


Right, and the heat has to muve through the briar and out into the air. Of course your hand is usually on the briar feeling the heat moving out...


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## User Name (Feb 11, 2011)

I figure as long as the smoke is cool, and the pipe isn't giving you burns (or itself burns), everything fine.

What we need to do is a find a way to harness this heat coming off of a pipe. How about some form of water heater. Help keep your tea warm while you smoke.


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

User Name said:


> What we need to do is a find a way to harness this heat coming off of a pipe. How about some form of water heater. Help keep your tea warm while you smoke.


I know, I usually just end up gulping it down before it gets too cold... (its nice to know there is another tea drinker on here)


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## User Name (Feb 11, 2011)

Nick S. said:


> I know, I usually just end up gulping it down before it gets too cold... (its nice to know there is another tea drinker on here)


I'm no expert by any means. It just helps my insides move around. :mrgreen:


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

User Name said:


> I'm no expert by any means. It just helps my insides move around. :mrgreen:


haha, Im no expert either, but pipe smoking and tea seem to fit so well together...


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## drastic_quench (Sep 12, 2008)

Shitty briar gets hot. Quality briar doesn't, but that heat is not coming through in the smoke. Rather, quality briar absorbs and efficiently dissipates the heat. The briar is never too hot to hold, and the smile isn't overly hot.


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

drastic_quench said:


> Shitty briar gets hot. Quality briar doesn't, but that heat is not coming through in the smoke. Rather, quality briar absorbs and efficiently dissipates the heat. The briar is never too hot to hold, and the smile isn't overly hot.


Hmm, yeah that is what I thought...


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## x6ftundx (Jul 31, 2008)

drastic_quench said:


> Shitty briar gets hot. Quality briar doesn't, but that heat is not coming through in the smoke. Rather, quality briar absorbs and efficiently dissipates the heat. The briar is never too hot to hold, and the smile isn't overly hot.


I have to disagree with that. I have a savinelli pipe that always burned hot no matter what tobacco was in it... I don't think Savinelli's are made with bad briars, I feel that they are right up there with the best...


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## Nachman (Oct 16, 2010)

My coolest smoking pipe in both the hand feel and the smoke is a Nording, which they call a Dublin, but looks like a Rhodesian to me. The walls of the bowl are massive and it stays cool to the touch, but the smoke is cool also.


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## drastic_quench (Sep 12, 2008)

drastic_quench said:


> Shitty briar gets hot. Quality briar doesn't, but that heat is not coming through in the smoke. Rather, quality briar absorbs and efficiently dissipates the heat. The briar is never too hot to hold, and the smile isn't overly hot.


*smoke, not smile. Damn phone.


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## Zogg (Aug 31, 2010)

x6ftundx said:


> I have to disagree with that. I have a savinelli pipe that always burned hot no matter what tobacco was in it... I don't think Savinelli's are made with bad briars, I feel that they are right up there with the best...


at the price of a sav and how many they churn out you can certainly get a dud on occasion though


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## lord sevein (Aug 31, 2010)

User Name said:


> My worthless statement-
> 
> I generally refer to the smoke itself as being cool, a pipe will get warm not matter what and I really enjoy that aspect of it (especially in the winter).
> 
> As far as pipes getting too hot to hold, that usually has to do with smoking technique combined with tobacco selection.


I find this has been my experience too. At first I thought I had crappy pipes when I found that all of them would get warm when I smoked them - especially when I put some devil's holiday in them. Then someone at my B&M pointed out that it doesn't really matter how hot the pipe gets - just the smoke you are taking in. Turns out that my pipes arent so bad after all!

:rotfl:


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## MarkC (Jul 4, 2009)

Nick S. said:


> I know, I usually just end up gulping it down before it gets too cold... (its nice to know there is another tea drinker on here)


Tea is THE drink for smoking!


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## freestoke (Feb 13, 2011)

Thick bowled pipes would be cooler to the touch for obvious reasons, one would think. I'd guess the interior would be cooler, not hotter, on a thin-walled pipe, since the heat would dissipate faster to the outside, instead of insulating the ember and making the chamber itself hotter as a thick walled pipe might do. Maybe my venture into physics in school was a case of, "drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain...". Black body radiation and entropy is so weird. :dunno:


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## User Name (Feb 11, 2011)

freestoke said:


> Thick bowled pipes would be cooler to the touch for obvious reasons, one would think. I'd guess the interior would be cooler, not hotter, on a thin-walled pipe, since the heat would dissipate faster to the outside, instead of insulating the ember and making the chamber itself hotter as a thick walled pipe might do. Maybe my venture into physics in school was a case of, "drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain...". Black body radiation and entropy is so weird. :dunno:


My turn to pull bad logic from my rear.

Because it's a thin pipe, there is little difference between the interior and exterior of the pipe. The pipe can't dissipate heat to the surrounding atmosphere faster than it's being added by the burning tobacco. Starts a traffic jam, and the pipe heats up like Los Angeles rush hour.

Getting a thick walled pipe is like adding some lanes to clearly outdated 2-lane freeways.

I f'in hate my drive to work....


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## ChronoB (Nov 4, 2007)

We're talking about two different things here. First, a tobacco blend that smokes cool and dry, without bite. Blends with too many flavor additives or humectants will smoke wet, and often cause you to over-puff, making for a hotter, more biting smoke. Even a pipe with a reputation for cool, dry smoking might not smoke that way with the wrong blend in it.

Second, the pipe itself. A pipe that smokes cool and dry is simply one that _when properly packed, lit, and puffed properly_ will smoke without _excessive _moisture or heat. Some pipes might be so good as to smoke cool and dry even when you don't do those things properly.

I disagree with the notion that "quality briar" won't get too hot. If that is the case, I don't have any pipes made of quality briar, because they all get hot to the touch sometimes.

Briar is an ideal pipe material because it is burn resistant, and can absorb/dissipate heat and moisture. A lot goes into how much heat builds up in the wood beyond the quality of the briar itself: airflow, puff rate, type of tobacco, tamping, etc. Moisture concentration is affected by those same things, in addition to how much cake is in a bowl, whether a pipe is straight or bent, etc.

You can overwhelm any briar pipe's ability to absorb and then dissipate heat/moisture (except maybe a gourd calabash, but I don't have any experience with one). The reality is that if you walk away from a bowl and can say it was a cool, dry smoke, then a lot of things came together in just the right way.


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## drastic_quench (Sep 12, 2008)

In my view, sure, you can heat up a quality piece of briar to a too hot temperature through poor technique or bad tobacco choice -- but you should have to go out of your way to do so. Good briar doesn't need frequent rests / cooling periods when smoked with decent technique. I have one briar that gets too hot too frequently, and it is - by default - of inferior quality. I have to baby it and dedicate it to burley to coax a good smoke out of it. Clearly, no matter the price tag, it's not a quality briar.


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## Nick S. (Jul 10, 2011)

I agree there are many factors that go into a pipe smoking cool, and only one of them is the briar itself.



Zogg said:


> at the price of a sav and how many they churn out you can certainly get a dud on occasion though


This is true, even the best pipemaker can end up with a dud through no fault of his own...



MarkC said:


> Tea is THE drink for smoking!


+1 the combination is pure bliss


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